Wild Horse and Burro Management

National Wild Horse and Burro Trademark LogoThe Bureau of Land Management (BLM) protects, manages, and controls wild horses and burros under the authority of the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act of 1971 to ensure that healthy herds thrive on healthy rangelands. The BLM manages these living symbols of the Western spirit as part of its multiple-use mission under the 1976 Federal Land Policy and Management Act.

One of the BLM’s key responsibilities under the 1971 law is to determine the “appropriate management level” (AML) of wild horses and burros on the public rangelands. These animals have virtually no natural predators and their herd sizes can double about every four years. As a result, about 29,000 wild horses and burros roam BLM-managed lands in 10 Western states, a population that exceeds by about 2,500 the number that can exist in balance with other public rangeland resources and uses. Droughts and wildfires also have a determining factor in the number of wild horses and burros that must be removed yearly. 
 
To help restore the balance, the BLM gathers some wild horses and burros and offers them for adoption or sale to those individuals and groups willing and able to provide humane, long-term care.

 

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Wild Horse and Burro Adoptions

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Facility Internet Adoption Program*

 New Edition - 2008 Spring/Summer National Newsletter 

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Suzanne Myers and "Jazz". Winner of the Midwest Mustang Challenge.   

For more information about the BLM's Wild Horse and Burro Program, please call (866)-4MUSTANGS.

 

Wild Horses and Burros